Republicans: Romney's 'Gift' Comments Are 'Absolutely Wrong'

Jindal, Rubio and Ayotte rebut claim that Obama won by 'gifts' to minorities

Republicans of various stripes are piling on Romney after his latest (and perhaps last) gaffe of the 2012 election.

As Romney complained in a post-election call with donors, Obama won because he offered "gifts" like healthcare and free contraceptives to young people, women, and "illegals."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called Romney's comments "absolutely wrong," and tied them to Romney's earlier 47% gaffe. "We have got to stop dividing American voters," said Jindal, standing up for Republican inclusivity. "We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent - we need to go after every single vote. And second, we need...to show that our policies help every voter out there achieve the American dream...which is for their children to have even better-paying jobs than their parents."

Perhaps the harshest response comes from conservative columnist Matt Lewis: "Romney's theory isn't just wrong, it's pernicious. Here's hoping he finally rides off into the political sunset," wrote Lewis in the Daily Caller, adding that Romney's comments are "poison" for the GOP.

Are you happy to see Republicans reject Romney's "gift" comments?

I am glad to see some signs of intelligence emanating from the GOP. They need to have some serious conversations among themselves to decide which way they want to head. Continue backwards or maybe try to catch up with the rest of the country.

@MRMacrum - I agree, Mitt's silly comments to his 1 billion dollar campain contributors may finally wake up the Republican party and help them find one person (there must be one) who is "forward thinking"!(from a devote independent)!

@VCP You may be on to something. I hear Marko Rubio took a trip to Iowa two days after the election. Now why would a Florida Sen. be in Iowa? Looks like the GOP might be going after Latino vote. But I like Rubio so they might have a chance of getting mine.

Change? What has ever changed? Hope for change? That will come when voters start voting only for the politicians that tell the truth and actually care about right and wrong and act on that. That will never happen. It gets me so mad to see people speak so highly of certain elected officials. I just do not understand why those people can not see. Nor do i understand why those people will never learn. case in point is NY mayor Bloomberg. forced himself an additional term, people fell for it, again, then changes the law back for only two terms for future Mayors. All the while in office he forces his opinions and beliefs on others by making laws and changing lives. Nothing will ever change until all realize you must all stand up, united as one, not Republicans on one side Dems on the other but as humans, and demand and put in office the only ones that are honest and caring.@VCP

No. we have become a "gift" nation. The realism of this will set in when there are more receiving "gifts" than there is people working to pay for those "gifts"....at that point it will be too late. check out this article and the stats in it. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/332916/w...

He is wrong that he says healthcare is a gift! We all need health care not just the Greedy One Percent and contraceptives is a gift to use all unless you would like to pay for a person 19 kids and counting til they are 18. The logic of the GOP is not smart.

@hybridlment THEN FOR WHAT? oh you must have voted for him because of the wonderful job he has done as president. LOL, or did you believe all the lies from Obama on how the GOP was going to put you back bare foot in the home pregnant. Please don't tell me you are that brainwashed, pleaseeeeeeeeeee. You are employed, one of the few but don't worry about all those women unemployed, don't let them influence your vote.

I think he has done very good even with republicans fighting him every step of the way. What is wrong with his job performance? He has the right ideas if congress will stop fighting him and making it hard on him. Do you think it's better for rich people to pay less taxes trhen us? Do you think it's smart for a woman to not be able to get birth control bc she can't afford the 3,000 a year? Who do you think is going to take care and pay for all those babies til they are 18 if she didn't get birth control? It's a lot cheaper to help a woman get birth control then to take care of a bunch of babies food, shelter, clothes, healthcare ect. til they are 18. A lot of woman would be having 18 kids and counting and we really can't afford that. He has the right thinking. GOP just thinks woman don't have sex or they can just expel babies. lol

@commonsense51 I voted for the party that I feel best represents my interests. I'm not one of any few employed. I don't have one female friend who isn't employed and voted Democratic. If the women you've been exposed to in life are unintelligent and/or easily led, then I'm sorry (for you and them); but none of us are. Don't assume that women - of course - voted for Obama for welfare and freebies.

I never reply to you since I can't understand your far right rhetoric but what is this supposed to mean? Of COURSE the GOP is distancing themselves from Romney. Neither political party holds close a loser. The Dems never stood Gore or McGovern or Carter back up as their "good guys". The deserted them. The GOP has nothing to say about either Bush nor McCain. It's the nature of the beast man. They desert their losers and start the process all over again.

This is just a struggle for power due to the sudden vacuum. Introspection is important, but mourning must be given its space. What went wrong will be more evident in the Spring. Its also important to note that the gleeful press is on the hunt for some juicy meat so anything negative towards conservatives will be amplified.

I just think that its about time---that the "grown-ups" in the republican party, are finally beginning to step up to the plate. I think that the "smarter element" of the party---is getting the message, loud & clear---that the wild "extremist" and the "nutty things being said" are really starting to hurt the republican party....Its time to put an end to that nonsense.

@DerivePI Well if you are suggesting that, that's where those lousy republican ideas will end up...then I guess I will see you, them, and the rest of the backwards republican party in hell...Please dress accordingly...I hear from Nixon & Reagan...that they don't hand out sun block down there.

..All you Republicans want is to fight and argue and not agree with anything. You Republicans don't care about the American people only want to fight the president every step of the way. You don't want to work together and most of you act like whining two children throwing a tantrum. If you really care about the American people you would work together and they want to raise the taxes on the middle class and not the rich. What a surprise only caring about that 1%. GOP Greedy One Percent

Wow! Way to go Mitt. Screw the party you forced into loving you...(I guess they deserve what they put up...)

I guess Mitt is out for stumping for the next elections GOP candidate...

BTW...when is the last time a ex GOP president was good for campaigning for their party's next nominee? It seems that they have all been running as far and as fast from them as they could. whhy is that?

I thought his Concession speech was well spoke and humble. I respected that. He lost that with this current statement. Typical Mormon behavior though, they do the same here in Utah. It's everyone's fault but their own. They play the martyr card all the damn time.

There may be hope for the GOP yet. I think this election is in forcing them to look at voters that were once castoffs in their eyes. So let me hear your plan I am not a rich white man and I do not want to wait for Daddy Worebucks to come and save me so what are you going to do for me.

Say whatever you would like about Romney, but he didn't sit back watching, in real time, Americans get killed, on American soil (embassy) in Benghazi. He did not stand in front of the world for 17 days calling it a protest, he did not sit and watch RPG's shot at embassy, he did not get on his plane and fly to his little late night talk show appearance. Nothing Romney has done to date is worse than that. Actually witness an act of war being declared in, 2 waves, by attacking Americans on American soil. And what did Osama, I mean Obama do? " Oh that was a protest, not a terrorist attack. It was that video that caused it". What a punk! Well see how equal you feel when where you work goes out of business, or hours get cut from 40 to 28. Well I guess thing are equal in the ol unemployment line. And what difference does a 2% tax increase mean to the rich, not much really, but as long as Obama sits on top as the spending king and borrowing king, unwilling to compromise for the sake of those that love him. Republicans will keep passing on new cost to the consumers, or close up all together.

Happy? Not really, it's politically expedient, but Romney's remarks were spot on. Obama did target several groups, Hispanics, women, Blacks and they very youngest of the voters (the so called low information voters), with scare tactics (Jim Crow, War on Woman, No Green Cards, Too Rich and Out of Touch) and gifts, Free Birth Control and "control of their reproductive rights", whatever that means, the illegal faux Dream Act, halting voter ID programs and easier tuition payments and grants. He threw away white men, married women and independents. He didn't need them. This can be seen by the 47%(sound like a familiar percentage?) who have no problem with, indeed who urge it, raising taxes on the "rich". After all, if the rich pay more taxes they can increase their numbers and they will not have to pay a penny. So, unfortunately, the remarks are correct and that makes me sad. To see formerly resilient Americans, the "Can do" people, the very people who would have rather worked 3 jobs than be on the dole, who wouldn't think of taking a gov. handout if they were in any way able to work at any job, come to this, where almost 50% rely on a handout from the government to enhance their chosen life style.

@MongoAPillager no that was started under the Reagan admin, giving phones to people who can't afford them.That dang socialist commie terrorist Muslim terrorist who's a terrorist and not an American... Dang Reagan...

Romney is a (sick ) privileged rich man who doesn't have a clue about real life and what the majority (aka the 98%) of Americans face daily to support their family . He needs to take his money and go away!!!!

Cowardice, pure and simple. Realize Mitt isn't going to run for political office again, he doesn't need the job or the money so he can speak the truth.

Marco, Kelly and Bobby are career politicians, just one step up from prostitutes. Just like the hooker telling the 50 year old 300 pound “John” he's a stud, politicians will say whatever they must to get money and votes.

The 47% comment, while not Politically Correct was and is a “SPOT ON” summary of the difference in political leanings among the voters in this country.

Mitt's “Gifts” comment, while distasteful to the biased media and Santa-crat party are also on target. All one need do is look at the promises made by Axlerod's guy and their movement. Free birth control pills for Sandra Fluke (I would be willing to foot the bill for her sterilization to remove her from the gene pool), allowing illegals to become legals for the price of a vote, food stamps to anyone willing to pull the Santa-Crat lever in the polling booth, free cell phones for drug dealers, returning welfare to a pure handout through removal of the looking for work requirement and the list goes on.

Anyone who doesn't think those “GIFTS” didn't generate votes need only to look at Philadelphia with more votes for Axlerod's guy than were even registered. It's a tough task to get many of the recipients of the gifts out of the house to go to work, but for some reason more of them than even registered to vote came out to vote. Think it's because they like Axlerod's Guy or because they saw the gravy train reaching the end of the line with someone who believes in the American Work Ethic at the helm?

Mitt was on the money, the career politicians are going to flee like rats from a sinking ship. Sadly, many fine ships have sunk over the ages but a rat is and always will be nothing more than a rat.

Romney didn't lose because Obama gave "gifts" to minorities. He lost because he made himself look like an untrustworthy fool with his flip-flopping. He also killed his chances of winning the election with his "47%" gaffe. Nice way to turn half of America away from you Romney.